Fridge Extra Cooling

One way to increase a fridge efficiency i.e. consume less power while maintaining a low temperature is to keep the compressor and the condenser coils as cool as possible and this can be achieved by facilitating heat dissipation. 

As detailed below, the Condenser Coils need to dissipate heat efficiently to enable the refrigeration process to function efficiently.

This is normally achieved using natural air ventilation and one way of doing this is by leaving enough space for the compressor and condenser coils to breath and release heat naturally.

In fact, house appliances, the manufacturer recommends the clearance which should be kept between the appliance and the surroundings enclosure.

Having a look at the location of the fridge and subsequent compressor / condenser coils, there is not much space for natural air cooling simply because the assigned space has very little way of ventilating since the cabinet volume is very slow.

To overcome this, I installed a 12mm silent fan (as seen below). The fan will extract the heat from the compressor and condenser (installation unit) and push it out to the next cabinet on the right i.e. another small cabinet under the oven. 

The overall volume has now increased however this will not really help much since the extended cabinet is also sealed with little ventilation.

To fix this also, I drilled a 12mm hole on the upper section of the adjacent cabinet i.e. just underneath the oven.

Since warm air flows up, this will ensure that the heat will escape from this hole, thanks to the external fan which is pushing it out.

The system operation is very simple. I took the supply directly from the compressor connections, i.e. the external fan will switch off when the compressor is off. 

I also installed a 45 degrees thermal switch on the compressor and therefore the external fan will only come on once the compressor is busy working and has reached 45 degrees +. 

The extra fan does add more noise to the fridge operation however it will switch on only when the compressor is on and hot.

The connections have been installed in a waterproof box just next to the compressor.

A further improvement which I'll be making soon is to drill a hole at the bottom of the air compressor cabinet thus 'cooler' air will be sucked up from the bilges.

ps. Always make sure that the condenser coils are free any dust since this may/will act to to reduce heat dissipation, lowering the overall system efficiency.